Futures Beware
The wind howled as the darkness crept upon the forest. The night was upon them now. Zeljko had said it was the perfect time for Kyougi to hone his abilities. The cold sank into Kyo's bones, how was he supposed to fight like this? "If you cannot fight while you are cold then you will never survive battle against tough opponents. Are you going to let your teammates fend for themselves just because you are a little chilled?" Zel was right, he needed to get over it but his body could not stop shaking. He wished he had turned Zel's offer down and spent the night in his warm bed but he had unfortunately said yes to his friend and mentor. The two had wandered out to the forest. Zel said that Kyo's abilities would be at home in the dark, what that meant, he did not know. Kyo drew his sword and waited for further instruction. "Kyo, look at your sword." The young Shinigami stared down at his large blade. His friends all had katanas and nodachis but Kyougi was stuck with a massive claymore. The sword was difficult to adjust to and made Kyo have a hard time sparring with others. "The size of your sword means that you have a mass of spiritual power hidden in you. We are going to bring that out of you. We are not leaving here tonight until your spiritual power explodes. You are unseated but I want to see your power grow to right around mine. In order to accomplish this, I will push you to the brink of death. It sounds extreme but it will work." Zel pulled out his sword. "When you are ready to begin, attack me." Kyo breathed deeply, he was finally starting to get used to the cold a bit but it was till throwing him off a bit. He decided he would just go for it. He held his Zanpakutō out, "Open the gate, Yūtai". Kyo let go of his sword and it disappeared. With a pop, a large scythe came into his hands. Kyougi spun it for a second before cutting through the air and using an attack, "Seshi Hitomukashimae". An otherworldly body appeared with a drawn blade. "Mistake no.1. Don't immediately release in battle. Save your power for when you need it. Fight with your own power first and only when you cannot continue as such should you release." Zeljko took a stance as Kyo's warrior charged, with a quick turn, Zel cut through the attacking force, sending him back through the gate. "You are going to have to try harder. Come on Kyo, if that is all you can do, you may die during this." Kyo summoned another of his warriors, this one took a defensive stance as Zeljko attacked. The ethereal warrior stopped the attack and countered, Kyo also swung. Zel blocked Kyo with his hand while he stopped the warrior with his blade. "Come on Kyo, if you use your power for a head on attack and then you also go for a head on attack, its not going to do anything. Mix it up, get behind your opponent. Attack me from different angles, make me think. You can do this. I know you can." Kyougi took a step back before charging. As he got closer to Zeljko, he used a flash step to move to his side. He brought forth another trapped soul to take his place as he moved behind Zel. Caught by surprise, Kyo hit Zel on the shoulder. "There we go Kyo. That is what I like to see, tactics. Now that you have shown me that, we can actually start." "What do you mean start? I thought we had started?" "Nah, that was just a warm up. Come on Kyo, did you really think you were going to hit me that easily? Tell you what though. You know my super secret Zanpakutō ability that I never show anybody, the one that I say lets me know what you are doing before you do it? If you can hit me once we start, I'll show it to you and explain what my ability actually is. How does that sound?" "Sounds good to me." Kyougi smiled as he suddenly swung his scythe at Zel, hoping to hit him with a surprise attack. The 3rd seat blocked with ease though. "Surprise attacks aren't going to work against me. I can read your movements too well." Zel ran to Kyo and unleashed a flurry of sword swings upon Kyo. Kyo tried to block but it was of no use. 1,2,3,6 hits all across his chest. His blood began to hit the ground as he panted. "You need to learn to release one of your ghosts instinctively. You should not have to think about it before you do it. They are your only line of protection so utilize them well. Now, again." Zel rushed into another attack Kyo once more tried to stop it but it was of no use. This time he was only hit 5 times. The flow of blood to the ground increased. The drops seemed to freeze as they hit the glass like blades of grass. Kyo was still freezing bur he could not tell Zel that. He watched as the third seat cracked his neck and called out again. Another flurry of sword swings and this time Zel was kind enough to attack his shoulders. His blood flowed like faucet now and yet Zel did not let up. Again, he called as he rushed in, Kyo could only think that he might die this time, he closed his eyes and accepted his fate. When he opened them, he was still alive. Before his eyes, one of his warriors was locked in combat with Zel.